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Q: How long have you
owned your Cannondale?
As I'm writing this I've owned my
Cannondale exactly 1 year today.
Q: Would you
recommend Cannondale to your buddies?
Absolutely. The Cannondale is a complex
machine and can be intimidating to work on, but the reward is
HUGE. Ive never regretted the purchase.
Q:. What type of riding do you do?
MX, Trail, WORCS (similar to GNCC)
Harescrambles, Dunes. I like all of it.
Q: What mods have you done to your bike?
Good Grief, A lot! The bike
started life as an '03 Cannibal. I'm 215 pounds and
no one has ever defined my riding style as being
"Finessed". I've lost count of the number of times
I've rolled or flipped the bike. So a lot of my Mods
come as replacements to broken parts. I look at
these as a gift from above as there is no way I
could ever justify to my wife the need for more
performance enhancing products on my Dale, but when
Devine intervention steps in and flips my bike
breaking my stock exhaust, poof, performance
upgrade!
I would like to thank the Man
above for the following Modifications. Some did not
come as replacements for broken or damaged parts,
but were seen as necessary safety enhancements given
my reckless riding style.
Champion 450 Motor, Herrmann
racing +3 LT front end with Moto Shocks. Quadshop
ELKA SSD Converted Rear shock, Full HMF Pipe, Top
Secret Maz MAP, Denton Steering Stabilizer. Razr's
on Douglas Ultimates. Pro-Taper Bars, ODI Grips,
Graydon Nerfs, Kill Switch. 14t front sprocket.
Other lesser Items:
I'm currently on my 3rd seat,
I'm running wheel spacers in the back, yes, I do see
a shiny new axel in my future! All black plastic
with red deletes. Quadshop decals (Adds 3-5 RWHP!)
Q: What advice would you give someone just starting in the
Cannondale community?
Stay active on these boards! There is no
way I would have purchased my Cannondale or been able to keep up
with the maintenance without the experts and resources that are
readily available here.
Q. Give us a little history on yourself?
I live in Washington State, I'm 34
and a production supervisor for a very large bottled
water company. Interestingly enough I had never ridden
an ATV or motorcycle until October of last year when I
bought a Yamaha Warrior for my wife as a wedding gift.
I knew absolutely nothing about the sport, or riding.
We got the bike home and I proceded to tear up our front
pasture. The seed was planted. I think after that very
first ride I told my wife that I wanted to race. 2
months later I had my Cannondale. That's a pretty big
jump in performance. I can honestly say that I was very
intimidated the first time I rode my dale, I got past
that very quickly.
I have mixed emotions about
getting started so late, but I KNOW that if I had
started riding as a kid I probably would not be riding
now due to injury. Age has given just enough caution to
my riding to keep my infatuation with speed in check
enough to still have a blast without the need for pain
killers.
So how competetive can a 34 year
old desk jockey with one year of riding under his ever
expanding belt be? I think the answer is 'It's
relative" You wont see me in huevos, and I dont think
I'll be battling Doug Eichner for the lead in the last
lap of the WORCS series final. But that's not what
motivates me. I'm out there to do battle, not with the
other riders for a trophy, but with myself. To honestly
push to the envelope of stamina and ability and then
push a little more, to run as hard as I can and leave
nothing in reserve. I would rather finish 10th having
given everything I had then to finish 2nd and know I
could have pushed a little harder. Where other riders
finish relative to me is alomst unimportant, because it
has no bearing on how well I ran my race. I could sign
up as a Novice rider and go kick some butt and get a
trophy, but what would be the point? That I'm fastest
of the slow riders?
My very first MX race I registered
as a Pro just so I could ride with Kory Ellis. I got
lapped twice by Kory in a 6 lap race. It's still one of
my most favortie races. It's not the same watching a
pro ride as it is having him pass you through a corner
like his throttle is stuck wide open. It does a lot to
keep your ego in check and more importantly show you
what your could potential.
Q. Any sponsors/people you would like to thank?
First, I want to thank my Wife, a
very good rider in her own right. Being able to share
this sport with her increases the enjoyment I derive
from it exponentially. I cant imagine riding without
her.
Next is Jeff at The Quad Shop and
Jim and Scott at Champion Motorsports. While I'm not
really sponsored by them, both shops have stepped up to
help me out beyond my expectations (which are usually
very high!) it's much more than just customer service,
it's a passion for the sport that extends to everything
they do.
Finally I'd like to thank everyone
on this board. I've made a lot of friends, shared some
stories and learned a heck of a lot about these awesome
machines. You people are why I ride a Cannondale.
Thank you!
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